Did you know that Entangled Publishing and Red Tower Books are the coolest? Obviously, they're the masterminds who plucked up Fourth Wing!
I was so thankful to receive a physical ARC of Assistant to the Villain, Hannah Nicole Maehrer's debut that mashes up fantasy romance and The Office. You may not know it about me, but I love The Office! (Okay, okay, I have to say it here: Parks and Rec reigns supreme in my heart. My husband and I argue about it regularly--but that doesn't take away any of my love for The Office. I digress...)
Aaaaanyways, Assistant to the Villain introduces us to Evie Sage. She's out of work after a terrible run-in with her former boss, and the only financial support her ailing father and young sister have. When chance shoves her into an encounter with the notorious (and hot) Villain, she can't pass up the job he offers her: as his personal assistant.
The Villain is just that: the consistent threat that faces Rennedawn, seemingly uncatchable by the King's Valiant Guard. Evie can't figure out why she's drawn to him, which will have you screaming, "girl, it's because he's fiiiine!" from the start. Evie starts her job and immediately improves the entire work environment in The Villain's compound. But working for The Villain obviously comes with a lot of workplace terror: from the severed heads hanging in the entryway and screams from the dungeons to actual encounters with planted bombs. But as Evie gets drawn closer into The Villain's world, the threats become far more personal.
I have to admit that Assistant to the Villain was slow to start for me--although I was sick when I started and on medication that made me drowsy 24/7. About halfway through, though, (and at the point where I'd started to feel better physically!) it picked up SO MUCH. Suddenly, I couldn't read fast enough. While there are some predictable elements that we see in every fantasy romance (so they're tropes we usually know going into the book), there were several twists that I didn't see coming until moments before--if at all. And that ENDING?!?! EXCUSE ME?!?!
I'll be impatiently awaiting an EXPLANATION from Hannah Nicole, and even more impatiently waiting book 2!
Also, because I'm probably the only one who will tell you this TRIGGER WARNING: there's a frog character. (Wait, you don't have a phobia? Okayyyyy.)
You can preorder your copy of Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer here or here before it releases on August 29!
Love and the sweetest coffee ever,
Mandy
Disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher for free and have voluntarily written this review with my honest feedback. If you purchase a copy using my Bookshop.org affiliate link above, I will receive a small commission and you'll support local indies! If you purchase a copy using my Amazon affiliate link above, I will receive a small commission which I will use to justify my literary addictions and to spoil my dogs (probably).
